ERIE, Pa. -- On Sunday, the Mount Aloysius Baseball team finished off the 2022 AMCC Baseball Tournament with three consecutive wins to capture the program's first-ever AMCC Championship. After falling to Penn State Behrend in their second game of the tournament, they won three straight, including consecutive wins against Penn State Behrend on Sunday to clinch the title. They will represent the AMCC in the NCAA Tournament, beginning on Thursday.
Leaders
- Fr. Tyler Quade (Mechanicsville, Md. / Chopticon) had 12 hits over the five games, while also driving in six runs.
- Jr. Jeremy Iellimo (Arnold, Pa. / Valley Area) also had 12 hits and six RBIs, over the five games, including a 4-for-5 performance in Sunday's first game against Penn State Behrend.
- Multiple pitchers made quality appearances for the Mounties, who got complete victories from Douglas Cannon (Valencia, Pa. / Mars Area) and Creek Miller (Lakewood, Ohio / Lakewood). The Mounties only had one game where they gave up more than five runs.
How It Happened
Game One vs. Alfred State
- Alfred State scratched one run across in the top of the first inning, when they loaded the bases and got a fielder's choice, giving them a 1-0 lead.
- The Mounties got the first two batters of their half on base, then both runners scored on an error by the Pioneer first baseman. 2-1 Mounties.
- Mount Aloysius added another run in the second inning, when Trap Wentling (Greenville, Pa. / Greenville) singled and Brent Creehan (Westmoreland, Pa. / Penn Trafford) scored on an errant throw. 3-1 Mounties.
- After the Pioneers got a run back in the top of the third, the Mounties answered with two in the bottom of the third. The first run came after a Joshua Brown (Manassas, Va. / Osbourn Park) double put two runners in scoring position. Quade scored on a passed ball and Brown scored on a suicide squeeze, making it 5-2 Mounties.
- Troy Emert (Rockwood, Pa. / Rockwood) extended the Mountie lead in the bottom of the fifth, when he singled to drive in Iellimo, giving them a 6-2 advantage.
- The Pioneers answered by cutting the lead in half, in the top of the sixth. However, with Cannon holding them scoreless and the Mounties adding one run in the seventh and two runs in the eighth, the Mounties would hold on for a solid 9-4 victory.
Game Two vs. Penn State Behrend
- Following two scoreless frames for both sides, Wentling got the Mounties on the board first in the top of the third inning. He hit his fourth homerun of the season, with one out, to give the Mounties an early 1-0 lead.
- In the fourth inning, the Lions took advantage of two Mountie errors and an early hit, to flip the score and take a 2-1 lead.
- Mount Aloysius responded as Jackson Kozlovac (Portage, Pa. / Portage) walked to lead off the top of fifth inning. Tyler Suder (Boswell, Pa. / North Star) and Quade produced back-to-back, one out singles, plating Kozlovac to tie the game at two.
- The game remained tied at two, until the bottom of the seventh inning. After the leadoff batter walked to start the inning, the Lions got a one-out double to plate the go-ahead run, giving them a 3-2 lead with two innings to play.
- Fireworks got going in the ninth inning, as the Mounties loaded the bases with one man out. Quade delivered a double to center field, plating two runs and giving the Mounties a quick 4-3 lead.
- However, in the bottom of the ninth, Penn State Behrend produced three consecutive singles to score two runs and walk off winners, 5-4. The loss sent the Mounties to the loser's side of the bracket for a rematch with Alfred State.
Game Three vs. Alfred State
- Mountie starter, Nick Lagnese (North Huntingdon, Pa. / Norwin), threw a 1-2-3 inning to get the Mounties some momentum and he was helped with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Mount Aloysius got RBI doubles from Iellimo and Emert, followed by an RBI single from James Rice (Leechburg, Pa. / Greensburg Central Catholic), putting them ahead, 3-0.
- Another 1-2-3 inning from Lagnese gave way to five hits and three runs in the bottom of the second inning, and a quick 6-0 advantage for the Mounties.
- Following two more scoreless frames, the Mounties again put a crooked number on the scoreboard, in the fourth. Iellimo singled to right field with the bases loaded and ended up on third thanks to an error by the right fielder, allowing all three runners to score. Brown followed him with a sacrifice fly to put the Mounties up double digits, 10-0.
- Alfred State did manage to get two runs back in the top of the fifth inning. The momentum was short-lived though, as Mount Aloysius scored three times in the bottom half, to extend their lead to 13-2.
- The Pioneers added two more runs in the top of the sixth, before the Mounties answered with another run, coming on a Wentling RBI single. After six frames, Mount Aloysius led 14-4.
- Alfred State kept the pressure on though, adding one run in the seventh and three in the eighth, on a three-run homerun. 14-8 Mounties.
- Suder and Quade added RBIs for the Mounties in the bottom of the eighth inning, extending their advantage to 16-8.
- While Alfred State added two more runs on a two-out single in the ninth inning, it was too late, as the Mounties finished them off, 16-10. The win moved the Mounties into the AMCC Championship, on Sunday, needing to beat Penn State Behrend twice.
Game Four vs. Penn State Behrend
- Sunday's morning game took an inning before any scoring started. Kozlovac and Suder each had RBI singles, following a one-out double from Creehan, giving them an early 2-0 lead.
- Penn State Behrend knotted the game at two, when they scored two runs on three hits in the bottom of the third inning.
- Kozlovac led off the Mountie fourth inning with another single. Quade and Iellimo both singled with one out, allowing Kozlovac to score, giving the Mounties a 3-2 lead.
- The Lions responded with another three hits in the bottom of the fourth, plating two more runs and giving them a 4-3 lead through four innings.
- Mount Aloysius would take control of the game, in the fifth, as they used two walks and six hits to score six times, and blow the game open, 9-4.
- Both sides would settle down on the mound, as the only run the rest of the game came on an Iellimo RBI single, in the top of the ninth, giving the Mounties a 10-4 advantage. The Mountie starter, Miller, kept the Lions off the board in the ninth, earning him his first win of the season and keeping the Mounties season alive.
Game Five vs. Penn State Behrend
- The winner-take-all game got started with Behrend scoring first, as they plated two runs on a two-out single, in the bottom of the first. 2-0 PSB.
- Mount Aloysius responded by cutting the lead in half, as Kozlovac stayed hot, driving in a run with an RBI single, in the top of the second inning.
- Behrend responded with two extra-base hits to lead off their half of the second, putting the lead at 3-1.
- After a scoreless third inning, the Mounties once again put a crooked number on the board. This time, they scored five runs on four hits and used a Lion error to aid their efforts. Suder and Aidan Bell (Woodbridge, Va. / Prince William County) each had RBIs, while the other three runs scored on an error and a wild pitch. Heading to the bottom of the fourth, the Mounties held a 6-3 advantage.
- The Mounties added an insurance run in the fifth inning, when Kozlovac doubled to lead off the frame and eventually scored on a wild pitch. 7-3 Mounties.
- Penn State Behrend got two runs back on a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth, cutting the Mountie lead to 7-5.
- Emert came up big in his final two plate appearances, as he doubled in the sixth inning to drive home a run, then followed that up with a two-RBI double, in the top of the seventh, giving the Mounties a solid, 10-5 advantage.
- Lefty, Seth Smith (Mapleton Depot, Pa. / Mount Union), proved important out of the Mountie bullpen, holding Penn State Behrend to just one hit over the final 5.0 innings, to earn the victory and give the Mounties their first AMCC Championship.
All-Tournament Team
- After their performances on the weekend, Cannon, Suder, and Quade were all recognized as members of the All-Tournament Team.
Up Next
- By virtue of winning the AMCC Tournament, Mount Aloysius will represent the AMCC in the NCAA Tournament, which begins on Thursday.
- They will have to wait to find out their opponent(s) until Monday. The NCAA will announce pairings, locations, and pools, during their Selection Show. The Selection Show is Monday at Noon, and will be available on NCAA.com.